The comic, a direct sequel to original series episode Where No Man Has Gone Before, will consist of film stills manipulate by Byrne to tell a new story.

Source: Press Release

Some of you old timers may remember something called photo-novels, a cutting edge technology from the pre-VCR days that took film stills from popular movies or television shows, added word balloons and text, and served as an adaptation of the film or show that you could enjoy in your own home.

What do you mean no?! Damn kids! Go play with the Twitter on your iPhones!

Alright, now that those brats are gone, let Ol' Jude Terror tell you some more about this. You see, Byrne didn't just take stills from the show for this comic. He took multiple stills and edited them together to make brand new images in a revolutionary new technique that...

What do you mean, "it's called Photoshop?" I thought I told you kids to get out of here! Get off my lawn!!!

Oh, screw it, just read the press release. I need a nap.

John Byrne goes to “Strange New Worlds” with Star TrekTM Annual 2013!

The Most Unique “Photonovel” Ever Coming This December

San Diego, CA (Sept 6, 2013) – John Byrne is no stranger to breaking new ground and he is doing it again with the extra-length Star Trek Annual 2013, arriving this December from IDW.

Byrne returns to the Star Trek universe in an entirely unexpected way—for this annual, he has created a completely original Star Trek story that plays out like a “lost episode,” using a uniquely constructed photomontage to create an entirely new story. “Strange New Worlds” serves as a direct sequel to the fan-favorite episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” which aired as the third episode of Star Trek’s first season in 1966.

"There was a visual richness to that second pilot that really drew me in," said writer/artist John Byrne, "and since I have long wanted to experiment with something like this project, that episode seemed the perfect choice for a sequel."

Years ago, James Kirk saved his ship, but the price was the life of his oldest friend in Starfleet—or was it? Fans will see Gary Mitchell’s story take a surprising turn in this story. But the uniqueness of this project does not end with the plotline; rather, it continues with the photomontage art form that Byrne has chosen to tell this original story. Star Trek photonovels, in which a book was created by adapting a film or television episode using actual film stills in place of traditional artwork, with narrative text and dialogue presented in word balloons, were popular in the late 1970s. But this is where the past becomes the future—Byrne didn’t just insert film stills, he created them. In order to tell a new Star Trek story in this “fumetti” style, he did much more than pluck existing images, instead compositing together multiple pieces of film stills and manipulating them to tell the exact story he wanted.

“This project started out as just a fun diversion for John in between other projects,” said Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall, “and as is wont to happen with JB, it continued to grow and become something much bigger than his original intent. It’s a blast to see an ‘all-new’ original series episode done this way. Byrne has produced over 500 pages of Star Trek comics for us already, but I can promise readers that they’ve never seen this kind of Star Trek comic from him before.”

Star Trek Annual 2013, a 48-page issue, is under license by CBS Consumer Products and will be in stores third week of December.

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About the Author - Jude Terror

Jude Terror is the Webmaster Supreme of The Outhouse and a sarcastic ace reporter dedicated to delivering irreverent comics and entertainment news to The Outhouse's dozens of loyal readers. Driven by a quest for vengeance, Jude Terror taught himself to program and joined The Outhouse. He instantly began working toward his goal of forcing the internet comics community to take itself less seriously and failing miserably. A certified trash eater ruining the pristine field of comics journalism with his sarcasm and goofiness, Jude Terror is secretly friendly and congenial, so if you've got a complaint, why not just bring it up to him instead of subtweeting like a jackass, jackass? You can find him on Twitter or try your luck with an email, but keep in mind that he is notoriously unreliable and may not get back to you right away. Unless you want to send him free stuff, in which case he'll get back to you immediately.